


Succumbing to her Game

by JustAnotherHopelessDreamer



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), Varian and the Seven Kingdoms
Genre: Cat and Mouse, Electric Torture, Found Family, Gen, Hurt no Comfort?, I’ll add needed tags as I go along, I’m not sure yet, Kidnapping, No beta we die like men-, Okay I won’t lie everything is beta read, Stabbing, Varian whump, alchemy bros, based off the most dangerous game, donella is a jerk, hugo whump, hunter vs hunted, varian needs a hug
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:55:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27273034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JustAnotherHopelessDreamer/pseuds/JustAnotherHopelessDreamer
Summary: For far too long Varian had been losing to Donella at every turn. But he never suspected just how far he could fall.Now with all the totems lost, beaten and discouraged, Donella decides to put Varian and Hugo in a new game of her own design.A game Varian can’t afford to lose.In other words: Donella decides to hunt the boys “Most Dangerous Game” style.
Relationships: Donella & Hugo (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms), Donella & Varian (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms), Hugo & Varian (Disney: Varian and the Seven Kingdoms)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 24





	Succumbing to her Game

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! 
> 
> I’m baaaaaack! XD 
> 
> First fic since Walls of Stone. A Varian and the Seven Kingdoms Alchemy bros centric short story.
> 
> I promised a team awesome story and you’re still getting it, this and a few other one shots I’m thinking of are just a way for me to get back into writing with a bit less to work with than just tweaking the actual episodes.
> 
> It is what it says in the tags, if you didn’t read those, you probably should. You’ve been warned.
> 
> Let’s get to it!

In Hugo’s humble opinion, the current set of circumstances in which he found himself and Varian stuck in were far from ideal.

Though he supposed anyone would feel the same if they too were shackled at the wrists and ankles, locked in a moving carriage and being carted off to who knows where, by a woman who wanted them dead. And yet it was in this situation Hugo, unfortunately, found himself with Varian along for the ride. 

By Hugo’s estimate, it’d been about two hours now since Donella had Cyrus tossed them into the carriage and locked the two boys in the dark, the only light they could see being the slivers of moonlight that shone through the narrow cracks in the wooden boards that made up their surroundings. 

When Hugo peered through the darkness, he could make out Varian huddled in the opposite corner of the carriage, his knees held close to his chest and head buried into them. His bleary, tear-filled, blue eyes were visible just above his knees, illuminated only by the minuscule rays of soft moonlight that were cast on him from above. 

A gut-wrenching, guilty feeling went through Hugo and made his stomach churn when he saw Varian try to shift his position to somehow get more comfortable. The alchemist stifled a small whimper as the cuff on his right ankle jostled and reignited a racing pain up his leg. 

Hugo shuddered when the echoes of pained screams breached the forefront of his mind as he remembered the cause of Varian’s current discomfort. As much as he tried, Hugo couldn’t erase the images from his head or mute the sounds that haunted him now...

Starting with the clear  _ crack _ that reached his ears as Donella stomped hard as she could on Varian’s ankle just a couple of hours prior…

_ “Agh!”  _ The bloodcurdling scream forced itself up from Varian’s throat as soon as Donella’s boot came crashing down on his ankle faster than he had time to react. 

The white-hot pain shooting up from the surely broken joint was finally too much for Varian to bear and tears sprung to his eyes. They wasted no time streaming down the boy’s flushed red cheeks in a continuous stream.

Varian unsuccessfully attempted to suppress other choked sobs and whimpers as he bit down hard on his lip. The alchemist winced once he recognized the metallic taste of blood drawn from the force of his bite. 

Somewhere past the sounds of his own thumping heart drumming in his ears did Varian hear Hugo’s strained and pleading voice cry out from across the room.

“Stop it!” Hugo wailed, fiercely struggling against Cyrus’ grip. The man tightened his grasp on Hugo’s arms, but this didn’t stop the boy from wildly kicking and desperately pulling to get to Varian.

Tears were just beginning to prick at the corners of his wide green eyes and threatening to fall should he hear his brother scream one more time.

“Please s-stop! Y-You’re hurting him!” Hugo couldn’t help but involuntarily flinch as Donella let out a cold chuckle in response to his pleas.

“Oh I assure you, he is in full control of when I stop,” Donella replied, a sick grin spreading across her face as she pressed her foot back down onto Varian’s injured ankle, crunching down on it as the boy tried in vain to writhe away. “Isn’t that right,  _ darling…?” _

Varian fruitlessly tried to pull his leg away from underneath Donella’s boot. He let out an audible gasp when the woman decided to press her foot down more, grinding his broken ankle into the ground.

“I- I won’t-” Varian stammered out, his voice weak and labored.

“What was that?” Donella asked, a mocking tone to her voice as she leered down at Varian and smirked. She was confident the boy’s resistance was temporary. He already sounded so tired and beat down. It was only a matter of time until he cracked. “Choose your next words carefully...”

Varian scowled. He wasn’t about to give into Donella. No matter what happened next, Varian refused to bend to her will. 

The alchemist forced his gaze up toward his captor. He blinked past the flowing tears to glare hard at the woman and yell.

“I’m- I’m not telling y-you anything!” He shouted defiantly, mustering all the courage within him to declare it. Varian wished he could’ve said it without his voice breaking, but there was only so much he could do when he was in this much pain.

“Oh?” Donella said, an amused air about her as she crouched down to Varian’s eye level. She gave a small smile and brought up her hand to gently tousle his messy hair, pushing some strands away from his eyes and tucking them behind his ear. If anything, these actions only served to frighten Varian even more. He instinctively squirmed back as much as he could.

“I’d advise you to reconsider that decision…” Donella continued softly.

Before Varian had time to reiterate his position on the matter, her hand had gripped a fistful of his hair and tugged his head up, forcing close eye contact with Donella. Varian drew in a sharp breath from her pull but found his eyes locked onto Donella’s piercing glare.

“You’ll find it’s not wise to refuse me, darling.” She harshly hissed. Varian tried to flinch away only for Donella to roughly yank his hair and pull him back into position, her grip unrelenting. 

“I don’t care what you do to me!” Varian shouted back. “I’m never going to tell you where we hid the totems!” And there lied the reason for this beating. Information.

Before they’d been captured, Varian, Hugo, Nuru, and Yong had finally recovered one of the final totems needed to unlock the Eternal Library. After everything they’d been through, even after the realization that Hugo had been a double agent for most of the journey and the boy finally choosing his friends and his freedom over Donella, they’d finally made it this far…

That was until the ambush.

Varian cursed himself for not having seen it coming. It was the final totem before returning to Corona. Of course, he couldn’t have this many things go his way without some disastrous turn of events.

And here it was. An ambush. A fateful chase from Donella and her henchmen. One that ended in Varian insisting he would hide the totems they’d collected in the woods and lead Donella off course, allowing his friends to escape. But Hugo refused to leave his brother behind. While Yong wanted to stay as well, Nuru hadn’t allowed the youngest member of their team to fall victim to whatever tortures Donella most certainly had in store for whoever she managed to catch.

At the end of the day, it was here Varian and Hugo found themselves. Caught after the chase, and Donella beating Varian for the whereabouts of the totems.

But Varian liked to think he wasn’t so easily broken. 

And Donella was beginning to realize this as well.

The woman sighed disappointedly as she eventually released Varian’s hair, idly tossing his bruised and aching body back on the floor. The boy let out a weak moan upon impact and tried in vain to push himself back up. This attempt was met with a swift kick to the ribs by Donella and Varian was back on the ground motionless within seconds.

“I suppose I can’t convince you…” Donella lamented. “Pity. I would’ve thought you were smarter than this…” Varian managed a small roll of his eyes at that remark. 

“And I-I thought you’d be smarter than thinking I’d give up the totems just because you roughed me up a little.” He quipped drily. “But hey… We can’t all be geniuses.” 

Varian figured the second kick he got, this time to his shoulder, was worth it just to insult Donella for that moment. If this was it, he wasn’t giving her the satisfaction of seeing him crumble. 

“Foolish boy…” She muttered angrily wringing her fingers through her wiry, silver hair as she devised a new strategy to extract the totems’ location. It became clear no matter what she did to Varian, he was determined to keep the secret. Stubborn to the bitter end. Donella couldn’t say she didn’t find his resilience even the slightest bit commendable, if not irritating.

Killing him at this moment would be out of the question. Not if she wanted answers...

But of course… Varian was not the only one who knew of where they hid the totems. 

A sly smile crept across her face and her dark chuckle struck both Varian and Hugo’s hearts with an awful feeling. A singular thought crossed both of their minds and their wide eyes locked onto each other in shared knowledge.

This isn’t going to end well.

“Perhaps my efforts are better focused toward my former apprentice…” Donella said sinisterly, turning slowly toward the blonde boy still held in Cyrus’ grip. Hugo’s green eyes were wide as saucers behind his glasses and he’d already begun shaking in fear. It was clear Hugo knew all too well what Donella was capable of doing to him.

“Don’t you dare touch him!” Varian shouted, a protective rage in his voice that caused Donella to pause only for a moment. Such anger she hadn’t quite anticipated. But it mattered little. After all, she still had the upper hand. Donella shook her head and tutted her tongue as if Varian was missing some obvious fact.

“No…” She answered plainly, causing Hugo to look up at her bewildered. “I’d get no more answers from him than I would you if I attempted the same tactics.” Deep down Hugo knew this was true. Even if he was scared… terrified even of Donella harming him, he knew his loyalty to Varian would hold up despite this. But what concerned Hugo more with the knowledge that Donella wasn’t going to hurt him was what she had planned instead… She seemed to have something else in mind, but what?

“T-Then… What are you going to do?” Hugo asked, his voice small and wavering. He was unsure if it was wise to ask such questions, but he had to know what was coming next.

Donella’s following actions were something Hugo couldn’t have anticipated. She gave a confident smirk.

“This.” Hugo barely had a chance to blink before Donella had promptly turned around, grabbed Varian by the collar of his shirt, hoisted him up off the ground, and using her powered glove sent several currents of electricity coursing through his body.

Hugo couldn’t stop the tears from spilling as soon as Varian screamed.

It felt like he was on fire. Varian first felt as the searing sensation hit his chest, shocking his heart and causing it to race faster than he’d ever felt. It rammed against his chest like it was threatening to beat itself out of him.

The alchemist grit his teeth in a fruitless effort to keep his cries contained.

The currents hit his skin and Varian’s muscles contracted and spasmed in an unsettling display. Smoke began to slowly emanate from his body and he desperately struggled to alleviate his suffering. His hands clawed for the hand holding him up only for the electricity still shooting from Donella’s gloves traveled up his arms and sent him reeling back. He still kicked and writhed as much as his twitching body would allow. But Donella held him fast, a terrible grin never leaving her face.

A split second and the agony was all over his body. Varian could not disguise the anguish in his face as the currents reached his head and pain ripped through him like a burning knife.

So this was how he was going to die...

More shrill screams erupted from Varian’s sore throat and drove the final stake into Hugo’s chest. 

He had to put a stop to this.

“No! D-Donella  _ please!”  _ Hugo begged, pitiful hics and whimpers causing his voice to crack as he cried. 

Varian was starting to go limp, his eyes rolling to the back of his head and ceasing in his struggling.

Blissful darkness was beginning to overtake his mind and spread to the corners of his vision.

“It’s up to you, Darling,” Donella said simply in response to her former protege’s pleas. She looked back toward Hugo while keeping her hold on Varian. “Tell me what I want to know and you can put an end to this…”

“D-Don’t!” Varian shouted amidst his torture, his voice strained and forced. He fought the slowly coming blackness only to tell Hugo not to give in. Not for him.

“I-I- don’t know- I don’t know what to-” Hugo stammered. He was torn up inside trying to make this choice.

“Tick tock, darling…” Donella said chidingly. “He doesn’t have long…”

More hot tears spilled from Hugo’s eyes and ran down his cheeks as he saw Varian continue slipping. 

He couldn’t watch his brother die.

“I- I’ll tell you!” Hugo yelled miserably. “Just please stop!”

Donella’s grip immediately opened and Varian’s body hit the ground. 

Hugo was only reassured when he saw the boy shakily take in a few breaths as the air began to make his way back into his lungs. He was still alive.

Hugo didn’t have much time to be thankful for this before a hand roughly grabbed his jaw and forced his gaze up into the eyes of his enemy.

“Then start talking.” 

It’d gone downhill from there. Hugo was forced to lead Donella to the totems, and then she’d had Cyrus chain them both up and throw them in the carriage. Neither of them had uttered a word since they were thrown in here.

Despite this, the gears in Hugo’s mind were already turning, wracking his brain for some way out of this.

Because whatever Donella had in store for them now, Hugo was certain neither he nor Varian wanted to find out what that would be.

But, at a loss for any ideas, Hugo realized that it was going to take both of them to figure out an escape plan.

Hugo quickly glanced Varian’s way before letting out a deep sigh.

“So hairstripe…” Hugo started, breaking the silence for the first time in two hours. Varian’s eyes didn’t move from their crestfallen position.

The blonde let out a deep sigh. He couldn’t blame Varian for not being his usually energetic and chirpy self. Hugo also couldn’t help but feel awful for this fact and decided to at least attempt lightening the mood the only way he knew how. He gave a glance at the space around them and gestured to it with his hands. He ignored the metal of his cuffs rubbing against his raw wrists.

“Well uh… this is a pretty  _ dark _ place we’ve found ourselves in. Heh.” Hugo said, trying to force his typically joking nature. “Any ideas on how to  _ enlighten _ the situation…?”

A weary but exasperated raise of Varian’s brow along with a slight nod forward gave Hugo pause.

“Y-You know… because of the moonlight?” Hugo made this pitiful attempt of salvaging his admittedly very strained joke while pointing toward the small amounts of moonlight around them. After a small look up at the light, Varian rolled his eyes and sent a pointed look Hugo’s way.

“Really?” The alchemist said hoarsely, finally speaking, albeit quietly. While Hugo was grateful for this, he couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed by the situation. He cringed and gripped his arm awkwardly.

“Sorry that uh…” Hugo said nervously. “That sounded funny in my head but now that I’m hearing it-”

“It-It’s fine… You tried, heh.” Varian interjected. He attempted a small smile towards Hugo, knowing the boy was just trying to ease his nerves. 

Hugo smiled back, genuinely relieved to at least hear Varian coming back to himself. These smiles, however, were short-lived, reality sinking in again and creating a pit in their stomachs. This was no time for jokes. That was obvious. 

“Where are we going?” Varian asked quietly. Maybe Hugo would have more knowledge about this situation than him. After all, it was Hugo’s former mentor who’d captured them.

“I don’t know…” Hugo was sad to admit, shrugging helplessly. “I don’t even know why she didn’t just kill us after I-” 

“Yeah… The totems. I remember.” Varian cut in, a slight sharpness to his tone Hugo hadn’t quite expected. The blonde blinked in small surprise, intent on continuing but it seemed Varian had more to say…

“And now, Donella is going to be able to get into the eternal library and- and once she does, there’s no telling what she’ll do...” Varian said regrettably. He sighed and curled in on himself even tighter, shutting his eyes, and gritting his teeth in pain at the movement.

Donella outsmarted him. Once again Varian had lost the game, and it was a sting he’d give anything to rid himself of it. 

The cost for Varian’s foolishness, for letting Donella catch up to him had not only been the loss of the totems but of his and Hugo’s freedom. Possibly their lives.

Who knows what she had in store for them now?

Varian looked down at the chains binding his wrists and gave a deeply frustrated growl, clenching his fists. 

“Argh, I should’ve seen this coming I-”

“Varian?” The alchemist looked up again at the meek sound of Hugo’s voice. When Varian saw the boy past the shadows, he could see the incredibly crestfallen expression Hugo had on his bruised face.

“I-I’m sorry about losing the totems…” Hugo said ashamedly, ducking his head down slightly and hitching his shoulders. 

The frustration dissipated from Varian and his expression softened when looking across to Hugo. 

“N-No… No. Hugo that’s my fault.” Varian said softly. He almost reached out his hand in an attempt to comfort Hugo before the chain on his wrist kept his hand tethered to the one he didn’t outstretch. He drew back and shifted uncomfortably. “I uh… I shouldn’t have put you in this situation… If I hadn’t let Donella-“

“You didn’t let Donella do anything.” Hugo insisted, a pressing look in his eyes as he implored Varian that the fault for their predicament did not lie with him. “Remember what you told me. Donella hurting me was out of my control. The same goes for you, hairstripe.” 

“Hugo this is different I-”

“No it isn’t! Donella has the totems because of me-”

“I’m not letting you take the blame for this, Hugo!”

“Well, then you can’t either!”

The two boys exchanged stubborn looks, neither one wanting to let the other accept responsibility for their predicament. It was Hugo who first relented and let out a deep sigh. Once Varian saw this, he let his hardened face fall as well.

“I… I guess we’re just two idiots who got caught up in the wrong place at the wrong time, huh?” Hugo offered meekly. It was a compromise of sorts to their prior ‘argument’. One that Varian could accept.

“Guess so.” He said drily in response.

Hugo hated to see Varian so despondent and it was almost enough to make him give up in trying to get the boy to start thinking of a solution out of here.

Donella had a way of outsmarting them both that got under the young alchemist's skin something fierce.

Finally, an adversary came along that could rival Varian’s intellect.

The boy could always eventually shake the feeling of crushing defeat when he was knocked down by supernatural forces beyond his understanding. That was something he could not account for. 

But Donella would manage every single time to beat Varian purely in a game of wits. A contest of wills and intelligence that he more often than not lost.

She was always several moves ahead. Something that infuriated Varian to no end. 

But if there was one thing Hugo knew about Varian, it was that even in the face of such a challenge, there was nothing that could keep him down for long.

Another pressed look from Hugo. When the blonde’s eyes met Varian’s he understood clearly. 

Nothing else mattered right now except escape... And maybe getting the totems back if they could but Varian could acknowledge that their lives took priority. 

The alchemist furrowed his brow in focus as he looked back down at the cuffs.

He wasn’t going to let Donella beat him this time.

“Do you still have your lock picks?” Varian asked, looking back up at Hugo. “We’re going to need to get these chains off if we stand any chance at running out of here once that door opens.” He jerked his thumb over to where he remembered the carriage door being. 

Hugo smiled briefly at Varian’s reignited resolve and patted down his pockets in a search for the small tool. Hugo groaned disappointedly when his efforts went unrewarded.

“No. Cyrus must’ve taken it when he searched us,” Hugo explained. 

Varian wracked his brain, running his fingers through his bangs as he thought. What else did they have that might be of use to them? His gaze finally locked on the hair laced in his fingers and inspiration struck. After some consideration, he looked back at Hugo.

“Do you have any hairpins?” He asked, prompting Hugo to scoff. Of course, Varian assumed his hair was that high maintenance.

“You just  _ assume _ I have hairpins on me?” He asked, incredulously. Varian frowned, deadpan.

“With how much time you spend preening in front of the mirror every morning? Yes. Yes, I do. Do you have any?” While Hugo was a little bit stunned by the comment on his morning rituals, he did know he’d eventually have to answer the question. He rubbed the back of his neck, a small bit embarrassed by the answer.

“...Yes,” Hugo mumbled in response, before shifting to what he believed to be a more important question. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“I’ve read before that hairpins can function as lock picks in these kinds of situations,” Varian explained which once again spurred a reaction from Hugo. This time an amused snort.

“I don’t see how tricks that work in Flynn Rider books are going to help us here, goggles.” He said, “How do we know this hair-brained idea of yours would even work?”

“Well, have you ever tried?” Varian asked. Hugo had to admit, he had not. But when such an idea sounded like a work of pure fiction, it was admittedly just handier to have a lock pick set.

“No, but-”

“Then it’s worth a shot.” Varian interrupted, he wouldn’t allow Hugo to doubt the only plan they had currently. Varian was willing to try anything at this point. “C’mon Hugo it’s not like we have any other options at the moment. And we have to get out of here before Donella gets a chance to do… w-whatever it is she’s planning with us.” 

Hugo had to admit at least that much was true. No use in just sticking around and doing nothing until Donella could finish them off.

“Fine,” Hugo said. He reached into his hair and begrudgingly fished three pins from his hair. The loss of these securing items caused not only a few tufts of hair to stick out at unnatural angles, but for some strands to fall into Hugo’s already very long culmination of overhanging bangs.

Hugo blew the extra hair out of his hair with a huff and frowned.

Varian couldn’t help but snicker just a small bit at Hugo’s now disheveled hair before refocusing. He’d have to make fun of him later.

“Yeah yeah now how am I going to use these to pick the cuffs?” Hugo asked, brushing some more loose strands of hair out of his eyes as he examined the pins closely. 

Varian took a small moment to be thankful that his goggles had not been removed from his person when they were searched and pulled the lenses down over his eyes. He flicked the magnifying lens down over them to look closer at the locking mechanism on the cuffs.

“If I’m not mistaken, this lock will be a tumbler lock. Luckily, Eugene taught me a thing or two about these. ‘Just in case’, heh.” Varian replied. 

“Alright well if it’s a tumbler lock I’d need a tension wrench and a pick to push the lock’s driver pins into place…” Hugo put forward, trying to think of how this could be made possible with only a few bobby pins. 

Varian took another look at the pins in Hugo’s hand and then the lock. Another idea.

The alchemist snatched two of the pins from Hugo’s pin, fashioning one pin into an ‘L’ shape while unfolded the other as straight as he could. He handed the makeshift tools back to Hugo.

“Tension wrench and pick.” Varian explained, pointing to the “L” pin first and then the straight unfolded one. Hugo examined them before the gears began turning in his mind.

“This could work,” Hugo said, determined to make it so. It was their only shot. “Here give me your hands.” 

Varian obliged, setting his wrists in front of Hugo for the blonde to begin his work. Hugo could say at the very least the pins were functioning, but unfamiliar to his hands thus more difficult to maneuver. Nonetheless, Hugo could feel the first driver pin set correctly and he smiled, amazed.

“It’s working.” He said, pleasant surprise evident in his voice. Varian smirked cockily.

“Heh. And you thought Flynn Rider’s tricks wouldn’t work.” He gloated, finding slight amusement in the fact that both the book’s Flynn Rider and advice from Eugene Fitzherbert who took on the name, had proven helpful to their escape.

“Well, we’re not out of here yet, hairstripe,” Hugo replied before continuing to pick the lock. “Besides, what’s the plan for once the door opens? It’s not like we could take Donella head-on.”

“I uh… Didn’t quite get to that part.” Varian admitted bashfully as another driver pin was set. It wouldn’t be long now before his hands were free.

“Of course you didn’t,” Hugo said with a quick roll of his eyes. “Well, take your time. Not like our lives are on the line or anything.”

“I know I know!” Varian replied in stress. He had to come up with a plan fast otherwise-

The carriage door suddenly swung open.

Unobstructed moonlight hit both Varian and Hugo’s eyes after hours of darkness. Both the boys flinched and instinctively threw their arm in front of their now stinging eyes. After blinking profusely to adjust to the new light, Varian could make out the shadow of a dark hulking figure standing in front of them.

Cyrus. How  _ wonderful _ .

Hugo absentmindedly pushed the last driver pin in place and Varian’s cuffs came undone just as Cyrus began to reach towards Hugo.

Varian felt an overcoming sense of anger well up in him as he processed this. He wasn’t letting anyone touch his brother without a fight.

“Get away from him!” He cried with a piercing glare and his fists shaking in righteous fury.

And then Varian did something very impulsive… possibly very stupid.

Running on nothing but pure survival instinct and a desire to protect his brother, Varian pushed past the pain Donella’s shock treatment had left in all of his joints, gathered all of his strength, and punched Cyrus square in the jaw.

When his fist collided with Cyrus’s jaw, Varian immediately retracted his hand in pain with a yelp and held it close. It felt like he’d just punched a solid brick wall. 

“Gah!” Varian exclaimed, shaking out his fingers to alleviate the throbbing pain in his hand. In hindsight that probably wasn’t his brightest idea. 

Hugo initially winced when he saw Varian hit Donella’s henchmen and saw the alchemist’s reaction. But when he sorted through the initial shock and looked closer, he saw Cyrus had actually been off-put and was currently disoriented from Varian’s hit. 

It was a small window of opportunity, but it was one Hugo wasn’t going to waste.

He quickly grabbed Varian’s arm and spurred onto his feet, fully intent on running them both out of here as fast as he could. 

Of course, he forgot two very important things.

Varian’s ankle was broken. And both of them still had shackles around their ankles. So naturally, both of them fell into the dirt in a heap. 

Varian felt resurfacing aches radiating from all of his joints after the fall.

“Ow…” Varian whispered with a hiss of pain. His suffering was continuing when he felt a large hand roughly snatch him up by the back of his vest and force him to his feet. The alchemist nearly toppled over completely, unable to gain his footing quickly with a broken ankle.

Not that it mattered so much since Cyrus delivered a hard blow to his face and sent him immediately stumbling back down to the ground again. Varian cried out sharply and rubbed his hand over his throbbing cheek. He just couldn’t catch a break today. Not that he was making it any easier on himself by fighting back.

Cyrus once again grabbed Varian up, this time by the collar of his shirt. The boy’s kicking feet were a few inches away from the ground and Varian struggled in Cyrus’ grip.

“That’ll teach you not to try that again you lousy little brat!” The henchman spat, scowling harshly down at Varian.

“Leave him alone!” Hugo yelled, pushing himself up. At this point, he was fully intent on trying to land a hit on Cyrus as well if he didn’t let Varian go that minute. But he didn’t get the chance before a familiar voice decided to chime in, freezing Hugo in his spot.

“That’s enough, Cyrus,” Donella ordered, a low warning tone lacing her voice. She stepped toward the trio with Varian’s bag in hand. For what purpose neither Varian or Hugo had a clue. She smiled sickeningly at Varian. “He’s damaged enough as it is. And I’d prefer him intact for what’s to come…” 

On cue, Cyrus’ grip on Varian’s vest was released and he once again was dumped onto the ground with a painful thud. Hugo wasted no time getting over to him as quickly as he could.

“Are you okay?” Hugo asked, looking Varian up and down with concern in his eyes. Varian shrugged simply.

“I’m breathing.” He offered up as if this was all one needed to be ‘okay’. He followed his answer up with a nervous chuckle. “Heh. Throwing punches without a plan isn’t my best idea.”

“If it’s any consolation, trying to run with chained ankles isn’t mine,” Hugo replied with a weak sense of humor for the matter. It didn’t serve either of them much.

It didn’t take long for both of them to look back up to their captors with dread rising in their hearts. 

Hugo began to tremble considerably once Donella stepped up close to him. He had no idea what was coming next, other than it was probably going to hurt. He braced himself for the worst…

“Release them,” Donella ordered plainly, much to Varian and Hugo’s surprise. This feeling was only furthered when Cyrus withdrew a key and unlocked the boy’s restraints himself. 

This left Hugo feeling rather miffed that he’d spent effort unlocking the cuffs when they were just going to be released anyway. Then again he supposed it still would’ve been helpful if they’d had more time. 

After they were unlocked, Varian and Hugo took to rubbing their sore wrists while Cyrus kept a firm hold on each of their shoulders that was more than likely going to leave a bruise. 

Hugo felt a pang of sympathy when he looked over to Varian biting his lip to suppress a whimper. He was struggling to stand on his own in his injured state. Hugo wanted to move over and support him but could see just how well an attempt to break away from Cyrus would go, just going off of Varian’s bruised cheek. 

With nothing much else to do besides contemplate the inevitability of their demise, Hugo took a quick survey of the area. They were in an open patch of land surrounded by dense woods. Looming, moss-covered beech trees with overhanging branches cast dark shadows over them. A seemingly endless mist blanketing the forest floor and making it impossible to see much further than the immediate area in front of them.

What a creepy place to die. 

And yet oddly familiar in Hugo’s mind… But what did he remember this place from?

Despite not only the pins and needles racing up his legs, not to mention the still aching soreness all over him, Varian glared up at Donella. If this was the last thing he ever did, he’d make sure Donella garnered no satisfaction from seeing him afraid.

“Where are we?” Varian demanded. “And what do you plan on doing with us now?” 

“You’ll know soon enough, darling,” Donella answered simply, mostly ignoring Varian’s questions. She tossed Varian’s backpack down at his feet and with a wave of her hand, Cyrus’ hold on the boys’ shoulders disappeared.

Varian would’ve stumbled immediately and toppled over again if Hugo hadn’t rushed over and caught him. He draped Varian’s left arm over his shoulders and let the boy put some of his weight on him.

They both had too much sense to assume any of Donella’s actions were indicative of her letting them go. But what then?

Hugo could remember these woods now. But not the reason why he’d been here before.

Donella looked Varian up and down and sighed disappointedly.

“It’ll have to do, I suppose.” She said to no one really in particular before speaking to Varian directly. “Do try to last. I’d hate for this to end too quickly. I suspect you will soon share this sentiment.”

“I’ve had it with your games, Donella! Tell us what’s going on right now!” Varian shouted back, ignoring Hugo’s gradually sinking expression as the pieces came together in his mind. He did recognize this place. Donella used to bring people out here she no longer considered useful… and after that…

“Oh,  _ darling… The game is only just beginning…”  _ Donella said with a devious grin and a wicked flash in her eyes. She reached to her side and withdrew a small knife from her belt. “In about ten… nine…”

Hugo felt the world drop away in an instant. He knew why he’d been here before now.

This was the place Donella had called ‘The Hunting Ground’. Where she took him only once to show him what would happen if he ever stepped out of line...

As Donella continued counting, the realization of what was coming next hit Hugo like a shot to the chest as his heart stopped from the shock. 

But as the reality of their situation sunk in, Hugo was silently grateful for the rush of adrenaline that pumped through his veins just a second after. In no time at all did his heart begin pumping faster than ever before, the urgency and primal need to survive overtaking every inch of his being. 

Hugo began to stagger back away from Donella, his trembling hand fumbling for Varian’s backpack and put the straps around his shoulder. He was still supporting Varian so he backed away as well. 

“H-Hairstripe... we need to run…” Varian’s still narrowed eyes flicked back over to Hugo in concern.

“Why? H-Hugo what’s going on-”

“ _ One _ ,” Donella said with finality, raising the knife at the ready.

“Varian  _ run!”  _ Hugo cried finally, pushing them both forward and taking off into a panicked sprint. 

Donella felt the thrill of the chase rise up in her and relished it.

“That’s it darlings…  _ run.” _

Varian could still barely process the gravity of his position until he stepped accidentally on his broken ankle and stumbled… just as Donella’s knife flew over his head and stuck into the tree ahead of him.

“Gah-! Did she just-!?” 

“No time to explain!” Hugo shouted back and picked Varian back onto his feet to keep on running. 

"Then summarize!" Varian snapped as he continued to stumble, his arm wildly batting away brambles as Hugo pulled them into bushes. Donella remained undeterred in her pursuit.

"Cat and mouse, Hairstripe, cat, and mouse!" Hugo pulled him randomly to the side, narrowly avoiding what appeared to be a second knife that had been flying toward Hugo’s head. Not that either of them would stick around to check.

"What does that mean?" Varian shouted frantically, trying to get even the slightest grasp on their situation. He’d been so rattled from the sudden shock of it all that he could barely think straight.

" _ We're the mice,  _ Genius!" Hugo finally blurted out. 

Varian felt his eyes shoot open wide when the pieces fell together in his mind and the adrenaline rushed through him.

They were being hunted.

Of course, he had very little time to think about that now. Hugo pushed Varian forward again further and further into the trees, desperately seeking some refuge from their relentless pursuer. The two boys kept on running, their hearts pounding from the exhaustion and the terror. 

Varian was already running his mind for a plan but could find none. Until now everything had just been a ceaseless back and forth battle of intellect. An invisible chessboard where their moves had been nothing but to further their gain up to this point.

But now the game was real. The pieces were set and lives were on the line.

But unlike before, Varian didn’t have time to ponder his next move. And he couldn’t afford to make the wrong one.

Because if he did… if was a checkmate for Donella. And the game Varian had fought to win for so long now would end with a blade through his heart. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> .....I don’t know what else y’all wanted from me. I can only write angst. 
> 
> It’s not as good as Walls of Stone but that’s fiiine-
> 
> This was originally going to be a one shot but I couldn’t work out all the details so here’s the first chapter of this short story.
> 
> Until next time! :)


End file.
